Trump says he may withhold federal aid for Los Angeles if California
doesn't change water policies
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 [January 23, 2025]
By LISA MASCARO and CHRIS MEGERIAN
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Wednesday threatened to
withhold federal disaster aid for wildfire-ravaged Los Angeles unless
California leaders change the state's approach on its management of
water.
In a Fox News interview, Trump repeated false claims that the state's
fish conservation efforts in the northern part of the state are
responsible for fire hydrants running dry in urban areas. He says the
blame for Los Angeles' struggles to tame some of the deadly fires lies
with Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom, a political foe who has called for
partnership and mutual respect as the state fights the blazes.
“I don’t think we should give California anything until they let the
water run down,” Trump said.
The president leveled the threat as he prepares for the first
presidential trip of his second term. On Friday, he will visit Southern
California in addition to western North Carolina, which is recovering
after Hurricane Helene pummeled the area more than three months ago.
Trump in the interview also called for reform of the Federal Emergency
Management Agency, claiming it is “getting in the way of everything."
“I’d rather see the states take care of their own problems,” he said. He
did not elaborate on his proposed reforms, only saying that the agency
is “going to be a whole big discussion very shortly.”
In other developments for the new administration, Trump met Wednesday
with a small contingent of the most politically endangered House
Republicans as the party struggles to agree on a strategy for
implementing the tax cuts and other priorities that it promised voters.
The meeting happened as Trump tried to advance other priorities during
the first week of his second term. Roughly 160 aides at the National
Security Council were sent home while it is determined whether they
align with Trump's agenda. The Pentagon has begun deploying 1,500
active-duty troops to support border security efforts.
“The American people have been waiting for such a time as this," said
Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary.
Stephen Miller, a top Trump adviser, met with Senate Republicans to
update them on plans for deportations and reinstating Title 42, a policy
that was put in place during the coronavirus pandemic to stop border
crossings.
Although Republicans control the White House and both chambers of
Congress, they have only thin majorities on Capitol Hill, and there are
disagreements on how to move forward with so many issues on the table.
Trump's meeting unfolded amid a series of private “listening sessions”
with House Speaker Mike Johnson, whose ability to unite his conference
will be sorely tested in the weeks and months ahead. Trump has held his
own dinners with Republican lawmakers at Mar-a-Lago, and he's preparing
to address them next week at their private retreat in Doral, Florida,
where the president owns a resort.
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President Donald Trump speaks in the Roosevelt Room of the White
House, Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia
Demaree Nikhinson)
"We’re working very closely in close coordination with the White
House because this is an America First agenda that takes both of
those branches of government to work in tandem,” Johnson said
Wednesday at a news conference.
Trump on Wednesday also announced his picks for U.S. Secret Service
director and European Union ambassador.
He’s nominating former fast food executive Andrew Puzder to serve as
his EU envoy and Secret Service veteran Sean Curran as his pick to
head the U.S. Secret Service.
Puzder, a former chief executive of CKE Restaurants, the parent
company of Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s restaurants, was nominated by
Trump to serve as labor secretary early in his first term, but
abruptly withdrew his nomination after Senate Republicans balked at
supporting him, in part over taxes he belatedly paid on a former
housekeeper not authorized to work in the U.S. Puzder didn’t pay
taxes on the housekeeper until after Trump nominated him to the
Cabinet post and five years after he had fired the worker.
Curran was among the agents who rushed to Trump’s aid after he was
shot in the ear in a failed assassination attempt at a July campaign
rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. He served as the assistant special
agent in charge of the presidential protective division during
Trump’s first term.
In a posting on Truth Social, Trump praised Curran for his “fearless
courage” during the Pennsylvania assassination attempt.
“Sean has distinguished himself as a brilliant leader, who is
capable of directing and leading operational security plans for some
of the most complex Special Security Events in the History of our
Country, and the World,” Trump said.
Trump in the Fox News interview also suggested he would like to see
investigations into former President Joe Biden.
Trump is the first president to be convicted of a felony — in a case
relating to business records of hush money payments — and had faced
criminal charges over his role in trying to overturn the 2020
presidential election.
“It’s really hard to say that they shouldn’t have to go through it
also,” he says.
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Associated Press writers Zeke Miller and Aamer Madhani contributed
to this report.
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